Dorchester Times: SPECIAL REPORT: Nov. 2 Election Will Determine Future Of Dorchester

Monday, November 1, 2010

SPECIAL REPORT: Nov. 2 Election Will Determine Future Of Dorchester

Tomorrow, Nov. 2, is Election Day. Despite all the talk of the national races, there is also a lot at stake in tomorrow's Dorchester's Village Board election. In fact, the results of our local election could very well determine the progress and quality of life in Dorchester -- or lack thereof -- over the next decade.

The polls open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. tomorrow.

Six town residents are vying for three seats on the Dorchester Village Board.

Kevin Olson
Caroll Schnell
Joyce Karl
Todd Jensen
Dean Pracheil
Zech Williams

Sources tell the Times that at least three (Olson, Karl and Jensen) of the six challengers strongly want to consider paving more Dorchester streets and take a more aggressive policy on blighted properties in town. (Candidates should feel free to leave their position statements on the "comments" section of this this post.)

Tomorrow's elections could drastically shift the composition of the Village Board. Currently, two of the five board members staunchly oppose paving, while only one publicly supports it. The other two board members appear to be undecided. The addition of two or three pro-paving candidates will likely give the pro-paving supporters a decisive majority at Village Hall.

Earlier this year, the Times conducted a non-scientific online opinion poll that found that roughly 82% (out of 167 votes) of readers say they want to consider paving. Approximately 13% of readers would rather see more gravel applied to the town's roads. About 4% want nothing done. Only one vote per IP address was allowed.

The Times has also been told that tomorrow's elections could also impact the direction the town takes in working with the Farmers Cooperative (the town's largest employer), as well the hiring of village employees.

Developing...

11 comments:

AnonymousNovember 1, 2010 at 10:43 AM
Thanks for this update. It is so good to see the Dochester Times again. Keep them coming.
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AnonymousNovember 1, 2010 at 3:03 PM
GREAT!! THE TIMES REARS ITS UGLY HEAD JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION. THINGS ARE JUST FINE HERE, QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THINGS.
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AnonymousNovember 1, 2010 at 5:22 PM
Back from the dead the day after Halloween to stir up the crap! Just goes to show that the Times just wants to push their own agenda.
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AnonymousNovember 1, 2010 at 8:58 PM
Seriously???? You post this crap right before the election?? Why don't you just tell everyone to vote for Olson, Kevin=Carol, Karl, and Jensen.
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AnonymousNovember 2, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Good for you to post these things. It funny to watch the negative people panic because they thought things were returning to as before. "If nobody talks about maybe the problems will go away and I don't I have to deal with it" Sorry but I hope those so called good old days are gone. It is time to stand up and be proactive and look to the future or there could be a not so bright one ahead of us.
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AnonymousNovember 2, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Someone's getting nervous...
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AnonymousNovember 2, 2010 at 1:04 PM
Thank you the times for running this. Some people will appreciate this. Not because it is about paving, but it states some issues. I think it is great, that just maybe, you will decide to come back on. Not only for running this article, but I hope that the articles will continue.You have done great work in the past, no matter what is said on this blog. I commend you, and the people who help you. Its just like the Crete News, but more about our own town, how many towns, can say that.

Diane Velder
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Robin GordonNovember 3, 2010 at 2:13 PM
I am in total agreement with Diane!

I miss the Dorchester Times! It was the only way to get any news about the happenings in Dorchester unless you were hanging out on Washington St. or reading the billboard sign. Like we have time to stand in front of the post office to read that our water is bad or that the burn pile is closed. I mean really?

Please don't let the opinions of a few (who can't even own up to who they are) stop you from coming back online. I think there are far more in this town that would rather have you back than not.

Just saying....
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AnonymousNovember 3, 2010 at 6:39 PM
I was so happy to see some news on the Dorchester Times!!
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AnonymousNovember 10, 2010 at 2:44 PM
Can't stand the negativity people post about this blog. This blog cares about the town and its future unlike many of the comments on this article. If the village board doesn't show some positive progress in making the town better it won't be long before people start finding better communities to live in. I commend the Times ofr posting this information and I hope they continue to keep us informed of what's going on in town.
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AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 10:55 AM
Welcome Back !!!!!! Now we can know whats going on and not have to park in downtown to try to read the board !!!!!! :)
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."